Wildlife

When Caitlin Bloomer wrestled the massive Crawzilla crawdad — yes, that’s its actual common name — out of the muck during a bio-survey event in Kentucky, she was convinced it was the largest crayfish ever recorded. 

All over the world, from Oregon’s old-growth forests to Queensland’s eucalyptus groves, creatures depend on trees for shelter. A new analysis from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests that as the climate destabilizes, the world’s trees may become an even more important respite. That’s because, the study finds, trees everywhere buffer their animal tenants from temperature extremes.  

Spring peepers are singing, and walleye harvesters are ready to go out on Mille Lacs Lake, as they have for hundreds of years. The walleye spawn is on.

In the largest genomic study of African elephants to date, an international team of researchers analyzed 232 whole genomes from both savanna and forest elephants, collected across 17 African countries. This is the first large-scale, continent-wide genetic study since African elephants were recognized as two separate species. To achieve this herculean task, the researchers used samples that have been biobanked during previous genetic research more than 30 years ago and generated high-quality genomes through the iConserve program of the biotechnology company Illumina.

Finding bats in the attic or under roof tiles is no homeowner’s idea of fun. But Florida’s endangered bonneted bats have few natural options left. With a dwindling number of large, old trees with cavities — their preferred habitat — and exotic species competing for what’s left, many bonneted bats have moved into homes, leading to panicked humans and calls to professionals who can oust the squatters.

Keeping amphibians as pets offers hobbyists an opportunity to connect with the non-human world, often increasing interest in conserving animals in the wild. But there’s a dark side to the amphibian trade, according to a recent study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Farmers plant or preserve riparian buffers for various reasons, such as improving water quality, controlling erosion, or maintaining hunting habitat. Now, a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign underscores the benefits of riparian buffers to terrestrial biodiversity, finding that for every 10% increase in forest cover, an additional species is present. 

On a 2009 hike in the Huachuca Mountains of southeastern Arizona, a group of birders heard an otherworldly, ethereal bird song floating, flute-like, through the canyon. The hikers identified the singer as a brown-backed solitaire, recognizing immediately that the bird was very far from home. The brown-backed solitaire spends its life in the mountain forests of Mexico and Central America — what was it doing in Arizona? 

Zoos and private collections teach, inspire, and connect people to animals they may never encounter in the wild. And, in some cases, those animals represent valuable ‘assurance populations’ — essentially, backups that could be used to revive critically endangered populations in their native ranges.

Most birdwatchers are drawn to the dynamism of birds — snippets of a call as flyers twist and dive overhead, or a flash of wings in the bushes, gone before you can snap a picture. But a group of students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign goes out looking for a bleaker target: birds killed in collisions with buildings.